Why Your Next Family Vacation Should Be On a Train

Montreal to Halifax on Via Rail

It’s Canada’s 150th anniversary, the country’s celebratory verve heightening the appeal of a visit in 2017. Here, landscape-hugging train rides are a thrill, often taking days to cross from British Columbia to Quebec. An easy one-nighter we recommend takes you from Montreal to Halifax on Via Rail Canada. Book a Sleeper Plus Cabin, a private room that a porter converts into comfortable bunk beds while you dine. With this class of service (kids 2–11 pay half fare) comes all meals and access to the scenic dome in the Park car, essentially a chill-out room with floor to ceiling windows for panoramic viewing. This 22-hour journey is banked on either side by killer kid-centric activities. Tap into Montreal’s Euro-charm in the Old Quarter, then hit the Museum of Fine Arts and the Botanic Garden, which features an Insectarium with 250,000 specimens. Halifax is all about coastal recreation — biking, hiking, rafting, kayaking, whale watching. If you have time, drive up to Prince Edward Island, the setting of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s iconic children’s book Anne of Green Gables. Starting at $358 per person, meals included (fare is reduced for kids). viarail.ca